


Love Story on Ice - Private musing about their everyday life in St. Petersburg

by Helice



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Post-Canon, Sweet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:27:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 38
Words: 9,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24322780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Helice/pseuds/Helice
Summary: Yuuri moved to St. Petersburg to train under and with Victor. These are their days, these are their lives, these are everything they call Love.This is a translation from Chinese to English. Each chapter can be read as stand-alone snippets, so don't worry about anything just read this for fun. The translator promise you won't even get a better possible 2nd season *giggle*.
Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov, Otabek Altin/Yuri Plisetsky
Comments: 2
Kudos: 54





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [【维勇】冰上的尤里同人 关于圣彼得堡日常的脑洞](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/623737) by 暂驻欧洲之星. 



> From the author:  
> Completely normal post-series background, no injury/illness/any kind of risk, just sweet fluff.  
> Warning for possible OOC and author’s own setting.  
> Some Otayuri.  
> The timeline is so not linear that it’s almost messy. Sorry.  
> Also please disregard practicalities like the interval between competitions and whether the schedules are reasonable, because the author is very aware of those being entirely made up and WRONG.  
> Safe for work/home/children, very G-rated.  
> OK I am also calling this “Love Story on Ice” because it sounded better.  
> (The Chinese title is “Private musing about their everyday life in St. Petersburg”.)
> 
> From the translator:  
> This beautiful piece is long and I am only translating this for my own enjoyment so... likely won't be able to finish. But the short pieces in the beginning will be so worth it, I recommend this as the best YOI fic I've read in Chinese, bar none.

Just half a street away from Victor's apartment, there is a small store selling every-day food and necessities ran by an old couple in their 60s or 70s. Because of the convenient location, they’ve been frequenting it since Yuuri came to St. Petersburg. 

Yuuri had just started learning Russian, and the grandmother minding the store has a heavy accent, so despite the familiarity there was in fact very little actual communication happening between Yuuri and her.

But the grandmother really likes Yuuri. Almost every time Yuuri came alone to buy things, she would chatter at him in a one-sided conversation while adding a free apple or onion in his shopping. 

Yuuri’s Russian got a lot better, very quickly.

After about 3 months he could finally understand what the grandmother has been saying to him: she thought he was a student, only 15 or 16 years old – a student who wears old sportswear all the time was, of course, very poor, so she has been giving him some extras here and there to make his life easier. Later on she noticed the ring and only then realized that the child was already married — to a Russian man. But God, how dare that man asked his underage partner to buy him alcohol! What atrocity! Then she began to worry about him, so much that every time Yuuri showed up, she couldn’t help but ask if he was okay.

Yuuri managed to convince the grandmother that Victor was a good man of good standing, but for the life of him could not convince her that he was 10 years older than 15 years old. 

“Can I print out copies of your ID to stick on your backpack, coat and pants so everyone could see?” Victor asked after getting the whole story.


	2. Chapter 2

Yurachka loves to cook. 

This is quite surprising. He is still so very young, and teenagers at his age always prefer having fun over laboring in the kitchen. Not to mention his personality just naturally indicates that he should like more exciting activities.

Even Yuuri feels that it is a bit weird. But when Yurachka throws a paper bag of bread, biscuits, grilled meat or whatever delicacies he’s come up with this time at Yuuri without glancing his way, the food always smells so good that Yuuri forgets to question anything.


	3. Chapter 3

There is a winter essential that no Russian household can survive without – pickled vegetable. 

“Totally not the Korean type ~!” Victor explained enthusiastically, and then half-seriously taught Yuuri how to make pickled cucumbers and radishes.

It turns out that authentic Russian pickles are delicious, so Yuuri allows the secret breeding of clear glass jars filled with different types of veggie, chunks of fish or meat in the house. They are rather a colorful bunch to look at. 

Until one day, he sees freshly pickled strawberries and kiwifruits in the most noticeable area of the kitchen.


	4. Chapter 4

The reputation of Russian men getting drunk and beating their wives has long persisted throughout the world. Yuuri had secretly worried about some sort of extreme situation, even knowing himself wouldn’t necessarily lose in a fight; but he really didn’t want to end up angrily accusing Victor “you are no longer who you once were” before throwing Victor off the balcony.

But then he found out he didn’t have to worry about this after all. Drinking is more of a instinctive habit than a serious desire or hobby for Victor. He could stop from drinking completely and has never been addicted. 

He could also hold his alcohol perfectly; as long as he’s not fall-down drunk he is always nice and cheerful, and would just lie down and sleep if he is completely wasted. 

“I will always look after you and will never let you freeze to death on the streets because you get drunk.” 

Yuuri said, bopping a red-faced drunk Victor on the nose as he sleeps through the alcohol he has consumed.


	5. Chapter 5

Yuuri has been invited to do some ice shows since he got that Grand Prix silver medal. 

The program today is a fast one with several big lifts, so he’s a little light-headed afterwards. But with Victor coaxing him to eat and drink and the promise of quick payment from the very satisfied organizer, his mood soon lightens to an unprecedented level. 

“I don’t want to eat this ...” Yuuri tries on his best spoiled face and pushes away the bread Victor is trying to hand feed him. 

Victor looks at the deepening blush and the “spoiled” act that Yuuri is trying very hard but still unable to pull off anyway, and does his best to go along without laughing out loud: “…So?”

Yuuri’s expression immediately turns into a smile with shining eyes: “Can, can we eat out later? My treat! You could pick the most expensive restaurant now that I’ve got…”

Victor strangles the word “money” out of Yuuri with the biggest hug, and then it takes Yuuri about 10 minutes to remove himself from the embrace of death by affection.


	6. Chapter 6

Yuuri sent a Happy New Year postcard to his family in Japan by regular post with the address written in Japanese. Somehow they received it without problem. 

The Katsukis sent back their best wishes postcard, also by regular post, with the address basically drew out from Yuuri’s clumsy Russian hand-writing (that Yuuri could barely understand himself). And somehow it arrived, also without problem. 

“Russian Post is amazing!” Yuuri praised them to Victor, holding up his postcard. 

Victor pulled a face: “Well… they are pretty dependent on performance every time. Kind of like us.” 

Yuuri tilted his head in curiously, and Victor answered with an expression similar to rolling his eyes – which was a rare reaction from him: “I just hope that they would either give me back my iPhone 4 as soon as possible, or simply admit they’ve lost it and pay me back.”


	7. Chapter 7

Mila taught Yuuri a song.

The melody was as cheerful and fast-paced as the lyric was sad and profound: 

Vodka the devil’s bait,   
So many are turned into fools by its way;  
How miserable I am, married to a drunkard,   
Laboring all day and have to take a beating hard;   
Clothes with patches and boots with holes,   
How to survive the winter’s cold;   
The children are growing up without a penny,   
How miserable it is, married to a drunkard,   
God how I wish I can go back in time...

And Yuuri memorized it so well that he could sing it in entirety.


	8. Chapter 8

Phichit came to visit St. Petersburg and he brought along a few friends. So Yuuri and Victor took them around the city. 

Thailand was in a mourning period for the old King at that time, so any entertainment had to be sought outside of the country. So it made perfect sense to come to St. Petersburg, where you could also do some sight-seeing Russian style. 

Russia really was a place that would inspire anyone. The young men kindly greeting everyone with Sawadikrub went native in about two days. Beyond happily drinking, dancing and picking up girls, they even got in a fight with a group of Eastern European tourists under the leadership of Yurachka. 

5 vs 7, and they won.


	9. Chapter 9

Yuuri accidentally cut his finger cleaning the skates. 

This was not a big deal at all so he went to the infirmary himself as Victor was elsewhere on an errand. By the time Victor came back and tracked Yuuri down in the infirmary, Yuuri’s cut had already been sanitized and stopped bleeding. 

“It’s okay, just a little scratch...” Yuuri was a little embarrassed.

The doctor found that he’s out of band-aid, so he went away to the warehouse. They obediently waited for him to return. Victor kept on chattering to Yuuri while unconsciously fiddling with things on the table – tweezers, cotton swabs, etc.

Suddenly he stopped.

After a brief silence, he turned to look at Yuuri with a strange look on his face – very serious, a little neurotic, as if he was having great difficulty suppressing an urge but had to control himself because Yuuri was here. It was so clear that it all but spell out something like “you will forgive me no matter what I do right?” or “I can trust your sanity under any circumstance yes?”

Yuuri went cold all over. This was the kind of expression that would naturally lead to confessions like “I am having an affair”. 

They were silent in this weird atmosphere for a while. 

As Yuuri was about to give up hope, Victor kept staring at him with the same expression, reached out for the frosted glass bottle labeled C2H5OH 75% and took a drink. 

KABOOOOOOOM!!!

That day, Yuuri chased Victor all the way from the stadium to the parking lot and then back to the stadium again.


	10. Chapter 10

The National Sports Bureau invited Victor to participate in the New Year’s Dinner. Yuuri accompanied him as usual.

The dinner party was big, luxurious and serious. Minister after minister made speeches to express heartfelt thanks to the sports heroes, convey best wishes for the New Year, and remind them to continue to work hard next year. In short, it was a pleasant party all around. 

Victor sat in formal attire looking serious, drank very little and said even less, just like all others present. 

So Yuuri felt that this official social event should end soon easily and peacefully.

Until the last aged official got drunk enough to be helped out, music exploded in the room, Victor ripped off his tie as cheered on by others and jumped on the table, Yuuri finally realized his mistake.


	11. Chapter 11

Yakov’s ice skating winter camp started.

Victor and Yuuri would help out with the students whenever they were free. Especially Yuuri, because he was very popular with the children.

So Yakov took them both along for the last week of the winter camp, which was spent camping in cabins in the wild. 

Within that week, Yuuri learned to ride horses, hack firewood with an axe, light up a fireplace, make bacon, go winter swimming, operate radio stations, use shotguns and semi-automatic rifles, and so much more about survival in the wild, forest fire prevention, dealing with bears and wolves, etc., etc., etc.

On the last day, Yuuri sat on a pile of wood in the yard and watched a group of children with an average age of 10 splashing water on each other while treading ice and snow in swimsuits. He sincerely felt that Russia was a scientifically magical place.


	12. Chapter 12

Victor took Yuuri to the Memorial Hall for the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad.

Yuuri only managed a general understanding because he still wasn’t fluent enough in Russian. 

As they left the Memorial Hall, Victor stopped by a souvenir stall and picked a hat after looking for a while. 

He put it on for Yuuri – it was a roughly-sewn boat cap with a kind of grayish yellow color. But Victor was handsome enough that any sort of ugly clothing would look good on him anyway. 

“Looks great,” Yuuri said sincerely. 

Victor reached out and touched his chin: “I am really glad to be meeting you in this era.”


	13. Chapter 13

Yurachka made sweets.

He brought them to the stadium and shared with everyone training there at lunch. 

Victor was the last to come in. Only a couple mint-flavor pieces were left. 

“I don’t like this flavor...” He grumbled with an innocent face, and Yurachka immediately betrayed his conscience by ruthlessly identifying Yuuri: “Katsudon just took the last chocolate-flavor one!” 

“Eh?” Yuuri actually had just put that piece in his mouth. He was caught off guard by Yurachka’s claim and it was clear he didn’t know what to do: should he swallow it? Spit it out? But before he could decide on a reaction Victor already crowded over in two steps – 

Yuuri shoved Victor away so hard that he himself went back a few steps. He went red and stared at Victor, who had already started to chew on the sweet, and pointed a trembling finger at Victor before finally exploded with “how could you just take something like that!!!”

Victor was stunned by this explosive reaction. After a brief pause he was quick to apologize: “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you would get mad, I am really very sorry…” He came over to Yuuri and bowed his head down, “let me give it back.”


	14. Chapter 14

Yuuri let out a sound between a howl and a shriek. Victor realized the predicament he has placed himself and immediately escaped from the canteen.

Yuuri chased after him around the corridors of the stadium. He couldn’t even tell if he was going to punch Victor, pull his hair or just pat him on the back. 

Victor has gotten smart this time. Instead of running to the deserted parking lot, he circled around to the rink with Yuuri on his tail. 

When Victor finally found Yakov, he ran straight into his coach’s arms and buried his face in Yakov’s shoulder, trembling breathlessly. Yuuri saw the shock expression ran over Yakov’s ever severe face like a freight train of unbelievableness. The clearest description of that expression would be “? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?”

Yuuri calmed down immediately: “No no no, it’s not what you think! No matter what you are thinking!” 

Yakov’s expression changed to “I am calling the police right now”.

Fortunately, Victor couldn’t hold back his laughter anymore right at that moment.


	15. Chapter 15

Yuuri still hasn’t figured out the purpose of the trip even if he was already on board a Soviet-era looking green train. 

“Yurio, are you really not telling me anything at all?” He looked at his fellow passenger in confusion. 

“Stop with the questions!” Yurachka’s expression was impatient and embarrassed anger. He stood up, dragged down a backpack from the luggage rack and threw it to Yuuri. “Shut up and eat! I wouldn’t bring you along at all if I could cross the border alone with my age. Oi if you eat all of that I will kill you!” 

Yuuri was feeling helpless: “I only have one stomach like any ordinary person OK?” Then he opened the backpack and found that it was not filled with snacks, but fried bread, biscuits, smoked meet and pickled veggies nicely made and neatly sealed in various containers. 

“... Isn’t this a bit too much? I think this would last at least a week for one person?” Yuuri sighed.

“A week? I believe that’s one whole month worth of carbohydrate intake.” A familiar voice said from behind him. Yuuri turned around and found Victor sitting in the next row. 

“Weren’t you…”

“That event is totally boring, I would rather go out with you.”

He reached over and caressed Yuuri’s earlobe.


	16. Chapter 16

Georgi finally throws a long overdue birthday party for himself. 

His family has a small vacation cottage on the outskirts of St. Petersburg, so the celebration is held there with almost everyone invited.

“Pity it’s too cold now, otherwise the stream over there will be full of flowers, and also ducks from nearby farms will be swimming in it.” Taking advantage of the adventurous action of foolish youths opening surströmming in the backyard, Victor takes Yuuri outside for a stroll in the icy field. 

“Wait till spring, I will bring you back then. The raspberries and honey around here are quite famous, and we might even get to see bears.” Victor holds Yuuri’s hand affectionately and happily pecks him on the cheek. 

Noting that Yuuri has gone stiff, he immediately amends: “No no, don’t worry, it would just be a quick glance from far far away…”


	17. Chapter 17

Yuuri found a fur coat from the deepest part of the closet when tidying up their clothes. Technically it was a whole set of fur clothing, seeing how the coat also came with a brimless tall hat made from the same material. The coat was a luxurious black, with short fur that was smooth and dense. It was in Victor’s size and was definitely expensive just from the look of it. Yuuri estimated the length of the coat would hang down all the way to Victor’s ankle should he wear it. 

Yuuri called Victor from the kitchen and handed it over. 

“You want to see me wear it?” Victor was confused for a bit, but put it on without question after getting an affirmative answer. “This type of coat is expensive, hard to clean, not environmentally friendly and also a bit outdated. Everyone prefers down jackets now. But this is very Russian looking once you put it – how do I look?” 

“... Um ... like a handsome bandit leader from a legend.” Yuuri said half-jokingly, but Victor could tell he liked this look from his reddened ears. 

“Then let’s play a game.” Victor suddenly proposed.

“Game? What game?” Yuuri looked up in question, and then was rudely grabbed and pulled over.

“Bandit and his mark.” Yuuri had never before seen Victor’s smile turned so forceful.


	18. Chapter 18

Victor wakes up first on their day off. The sun comes up late because of polar night, but the light is shining bright through the windows. 

Victor draws back the curtains and gazes out for a while.

“Spring is coming!” He announces energetically. 

Yuuri sits up from the bed. He fumbles on his glasses, crawls out of bed and stumbles over to hug Victor from behind, putting his chin on Victor’s shoulder.

He doesn’t say anything, because the atmosphere is comfortable and he is not entirely awake yet.

Still, he couldn’t help but wonder in his half-awakeness: dear, where do you see spring with the snowed-in streets and bare-branched trees?


	19. Chapter 19

Yuuri discovered a serious problem.

Things happened like this: Yuuri was walking down the street when a reporter recognized him, came over to greet him and talk to him in English. But after exchanging a couple sentences the reporter got a strange look on his face. 

Yuuri wondered briefly what was wrong, before he also realized the problem: the reporter was talking to him in English, but he was answering in Russian.

And what’s worse, he found himself unable to switch back to English. 

“Yes” and “no” had deserted him completely, leaving only “da” and “nyet” on his tongue. Every letter was pronounced according to the Slavic alphabet. And whenever he saw “r” and “l” he just naturally spitted them out in trilling consonants…

Yuuri facetimed Phichit in a panic, and found that his best friend’s broken Thai English could not save his broken Japanese English at all. Victor and Yurachka were also completely useless – they would only lead him down further on the dark path of Russian English. 

In the end, Yuuri had to join an oral English class with native English speaking teachers.


	20. Chapter 20

It’s clearance time in Russia.

50% off all cosmetics, skincare, accessories and luxury items.

Yuuri got shopping lists from Minako, Yuuko, Mari and Mom. Even Phichit had asked him for some shopping. 

Victor did not see any problem with this at all. He himself was going in anyway so what’s picking up a little extra? 

“Yuuri also has to make a list of things you want to get. There will be a lot of people, so be prepared.” He reminded Yuuri with a tap on his chin. 

No amount of preparation could have prepared him well enough though. The battle started right on the first clearance day and Yuuri was the first to fall, along with Yurachka. They went down so completely that by the time the two of them slumped into the sofa in the mall’s rest area, they didn’t even have the energy to suck on their juice boxes. Victor was finished by a spending spree billing over 300,000 rubles. He was soon followed by Yakov and Georgi, leaving Mila, Lilia and two other female skaters to carry on fighting in high heels until 9pm.

In the end Victor had to rent a 7-seat SUV just to take Yuuri and all their shopping home for that day.


	21. Chapter 21

Yuuri’s family sends all kinds of condiments and ingredients – including rice – to him every month. 

They have to. 

Yuuri is a top level athlete who needs a high-quality diet that he can actually stomach. And Russia is a country where hastily chopped tomatoes and fennel on a plate is an actual dish. 

Yuuri would never tell Victor that he had once drooled over the pigeons on the Palace Square.


	22. Chapter 22

They were taking a bath together. Yuuri had finished showering and slipped into the warm water while Victor was rinsing his hair. 

Yuuri leaned on the edge of the bathtub and stared at Victor. 

Victor could feel that stare even covered in foam. Thinking something was wrong, he looked down to check. 

“No, it’s not...” Yuuri rushed to explain, “I was just thinking ...”

He carefully considered his wording before continuing: “Victor you are so... smooth, have you ever had anything… like laser… before?” 

Victor almost burst into laughter: “Nope ~ it’s just my genes. Everyone in my family is… well, smoother than others. And even now I don’t look super powerful and masculine. Speaking of which, I did look rather soft when I had long hair in my teens, many people said I looked like a girl then. Also there is no one with frostbite and hemorrhoid in my family…”

Yuuri was blushing. 

Victor paused and thought for a second, and then said: “Yuuri really likes how I look when I had long hair… a lot?”

Yuuri froze for a moment. He did not answer, but the deepening blush was telling. 

Victor considered him silently. 

And then he shouted “Don’t think I don’t know what you are thinking!” before pouncing. 

Yuuri could not contain his laughter while also escaping from the bath, so he was slowed down enough that Victor pinned him back in the tub. 

Warm water splashed out in a flood.


	23. Chapter 23

Mila has been doing yoga on her lunch break. 

Gradually, some other skaters start to follow her lead half-jokingly. Yoga actually isn’t that cost effective for figure skaters to be spending their time on, so it’s more entertainment than any form of serious workout. 

However, a few days later, Yuuri suddenly becomes so much more confident about his flexibility that he begins working on the Biellmann spin.


	24. Chapter 24

Yurachka took a phone call during training one day and ran out. 

He returned about half an hour later, holding a large pile of gifts and an enormous teddy bear.

Yuuri thought that bear was definitely not a gift from the fans. For one, the fans would not have Yurachka’s personal contact information; and second, he wouldn’t accept it at all if it were from the fans. 

Victor drove Yurachka and his gifts home after training. And since they were out anyway, he then took Yuuri to have sushi for dinner.


	25. Chapter 25

Mila came back from an ice show bearing gifts to everyone.

Yuuri received a big box of cherry liqueur chocolates, and Victor got a bottle of spirit.

“Have a drink tonight?” Victor suggested enthusiastically. He hadn’t drunk at all for the past few weeks. 

It’s alright, even if he finishes that it will just be one bottle, Yuuri thought.

He was so naïve. 

His naivety was dashed to pieces when he tore off the colorful wrapping paper and saw a shocking 96% on the label. There was a momentary confusion where he felt like his brain had refused to process that information: What? 96? 96%? 96 % of what? Of Water?

“What’s wrong?” Victor had yet to notice Yuuri had gone blue screen on him. 

He took the bottle from Yuuri’s unfeeling hands, twisted open the cap, poured out two glasses, and drank one of them in one go under Yuuri’s gaze. 

His expression suggested he might as well be drinking 96% of water.

“Victor...” Yuuri called his name softly, looking like he was suffering an acute attack of some sort. Beginning to feel that something was seriously wrong, Victor quickly put down the glass and reached out to hug Yuuri. Yuuri grabbed his wrist instead. 

He held on to Victor’s hand for a long while, and then said, “I won’t fault you for drinking medicinal alcohol ever again...”


	26. Chapter 26

A type of ugly but warm plush pants has become increasingly popular in Russia. 

It is furry and loose both inside and out, and is in a terrible corpse-like dark grey color. You could describe it as Bigfoot pants because that’s exactly what it looks like. 

A friend sent a pair to Victor. 

Victor found it both funny and annoying when he opened the package. He considered himself a true Russian man who would wear single-layer suit trousers in -30 °C. This was neither necessary for survival nor aesthetically acceptable for him to even consider wearing it. 

So Yuuri took it for himself, and he loved it. Russia’s climate was a lot harsher than Hasetsu or Detroit. Every time he had to stay outdoors for any extended period of time – like sledding or snow time outside of the city – he would squeeze this pair of Bigfoot pants in under the jeans, so he could stay in the icy wild for hours without getting uncomfortable. 

It was just that, whenever Victor touched Yuuri’s legs in these times, it was that pair of furry Bigfoot pants he felt instead of Yuuri.


	27. Chapter 27

Yuuri often visits an online forum for foreigners in Russia after coming to St. Petersburg. 

The members are from all over the world and the common language for communication is either half-Russian English or half-English Russian. They exchange stories and share experiences for better living in Russia, including but not limited to knowledge on customs, holidays, Russian lifestyles, food, entertainment, sales discounts, handling terrorist attacks, buying souvenirs, being a shopping agent and so much more. 

The most visited section for Yuuri is best described as “The Guide for Care and Feeding of Your Russian Partner”, which just goes to show that “Russians age quickly” is accepted as universal truth. 

Victor’s physical condition is as good as he can possibly maintain it as a top-level professional athlete. But under Yuuri’s watchful eyes and attentive care, with in-depth positive intervention into every aspect of Victor’s life, there is still a surprising amount of improvements: the tear groves and lines between the brows, which are typical in Slavic facial features, has lightened; significantly reduced bloodshot eyes and hair loss decreases with better spirit; and they even begins to see the kind of beautiful translucent glow that is usually only seen in Russians before they hit 20. 

Yuuri feels a greater sense of achievement from this than from his Grand Prix silver medal.


	28. Chapter 28

There was a small invitation-only competition in Moscow. 

Victor was invited, as did Yuuri, Yurachka, Georgi and Mila.

The competition was by no means important. It was more a performance than a competition, in all reality a social event for skaters to get to know each other and an opportunity for a dress rehearsal on their programs before the season picked up. Yuuri performed very well on his SP that day. He wasn’t surprised at all: anyone training at his level with the collective guidance and pressure from Yakov & Victor & Lilia & Yurachka would improve in leaps and bounds. This was only a better reflection of that improvement, and under the right conditions it has been amplified somewhat. 

“Victor, davai!” He said to Victor, who was the next to perform, as he skated to the exit. 

But Victor did not smile, tap Yuuri on the chin, hold his hand, pat him on the shoulder or act in any of his usual ways. Instead Victor practically dragged him over and kissed him so hard on the cheek that it was almost a bite. 

“Don’t think you will have it easy this season. I am back.” Victor whispered, his voice tinged with pride and full of fire to the point of aggressive. Yuuri felt himself ignited in a snap. 

“Then come and get me.” He hugged Victor back and returned the kiss.


	29. Chapter 29

“Katsudon what do you have there?” Yurachka leaned over from the back seat.

“Oh... it’s the matryoshka doll I just bought in the farmhouse. I think it would make a good gift?” Yuuri turned around from the passenger’s seat and showed him the doll. It was painted as a blonde girl in a traditional Russian style folk costume. 

Yurachka scrunched up his nose rudely: “How did you buy something so quickly, I didn’t even see it! Hey Victor did you see?”

Victor continued to drive without looking away from the road and just snapped his fingers: “Nyet!”

Yurachka made a face of “of course not, you are such an idiot” and snatched over the doll to check the inner layers: “A lot of these matryoshka are fake shits, only the outmost one is painted well and the inside ones are just terrible. You won’t be happy to look at it yourself, let alone give it to somebody else as a gift! Katsudon you definitely did not check every layer before you buy this! If there is a problem, we must turn around immediately…”

His voice suddenly disappeared. 

After hesitantly removing one more layer, Yurachka flushed and threw it back at Yuuri like a piece of hot coal. He wasn’t speaking or looking at them at all. 

“Yu…Yurio? What…” Yuuri was startled, but then he caught sight of the doll – contrary to Yurachka’s worries, the inner layers were even more exquisitely painted that it now displayed the girl in an unmistakable posture of baring her breasts and spreading her legs. It would be reasonable to assume that as one opened the doll up they were also stripping her. Despite the nudity, it was still painted in a cartoonish style; this style was in sharp contrast to the brutally direct depiction of her parts, which were blunt enough to cause the more conservative-minded viewers to have a seizure. 

Yuuri was trembling with embarrassment.

At this point, Victor slowed down enough to take a quick look.

“Wow!” He exclaimed, turned back to driving, then basically finished Yuuri off sighing in the gravest and most dramatic way: “You have surpassed my wildest imagination…”


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A long and important Birthday Chapter ❤

Victor was washing the dishes and preparing tea in the kitchen after dinner, and Yuuri was watching a movie on the carpet in the living room with Yurachka.

“How did you say yes to marrying Victor?” Yurachka suddenly asked. It came out a bit short, but Yuuri could tell he’s not picking a fight. Yurachka just wanted to know.

“Er... it was...” Yuuri froze and looked nonplussed. 

“Didn’t you completely reject him at first? And all of a sudden you had a change of heart. Why?” Yurachka frowned at him sternly. “Don’t tell me it was because you felt Victor’s love. I don’t believe it.” 

Yuuri scratched his cheek and smiled a little embarrassedly: “Actually... that’s kind of what happened?”

“Oi! Do you think I’m an idiot?!” Yurachka was most displeased with this perfunctory reply. He rolled up from the carpet in one furious move, and was able to say something else when Victor interrupted him sternly: “Yuri.”

Victor was standing by the door to the kitchen; he hasn't even dried his hands. He was biting off his words. He must have heard their exchange.

It was an awkward moment.

Yuuri stood up and wanted to change the topic, but Yurachka’s temper flared up. He turned to take a shot at Victor: “Victor! Are you such a coward that you can’t even face reality?”

“The reality is that he married me because of love, nothing more and nothing less.”

“You fool! Katsudon just changing his mind like that…” “People come to their senses suddenly all the time. It is perfectly normal.” “You’ve never even doubted that…” “There is nothing to doubt. Nothing happened. Everything is fine.” Victor smiled, but wouldn’t allow Yurachka to talk at all.

Yuuri’s voice wasn’t loud but it stopped the other two dead: “Actually, something did happen... I’ve just never mentioned it.”

The whole room went quiet.

Yuuri could hear Victor’s breathing stuttered. 

“Ahhh... Don’t be so tense. It’s not a big deal.” Realizing that the other two were freaking out, Yuuri hastily explained. He walked over and pulled Victor to the sofa, beckoning Yurachka to sit down as well. 

“It was that night in Barcelona. Victor you must remember it, right? I told you that I was going to retire and you should go back to Russia to continue competing as a professional skater. But you don’t want me to retire, you want to marry me and bring me to Russia so that we could train together. We had a huge fight that even Yakov heard about it… Then I changed my mind and said yes to you the next day. Right?” 

Victor went motionless for a while. The he nodded stiffly.

“I changed my mind because… I had a dream that night.” 

The two Russians snapped up their heads at this. Yurachka’s face said “please you gotta be joking me” while Victor obviously wanted nothing more than never speak of this ever again. 

He stood up and made a forceful gesture of “STOP” to Yuuri: “I don’t need to know why. I don’t want to hear anything you are forced to say, nor do I want to know anything that might affect our relationship. Pursuing the past is meaningless. This will be all today. Yurio, let me drive you back…”

Yuuri stood in front of Yurachka and stopped Victor from dragging him off. They stayed like this for some time, neither giving in, and finally Victor put his hands down and sat back on the sofa, seemingly calmed down a little. 

“I am not being forced to say this. I was actually hoping to tell you one day… but didn’t know how to talk about this. I was embarrassed.” With a self-deprecating smile, Yuuri sat down cross-legged on the floor in front of Victor and looked into his eyes. “I dreamed that I was someone else that night.”

“I don’t know who I was supposed to be, but I could feel that ‘I’ was someone very famous. Highly respected with a lot of achievements, always in the limelight with a lot of fans. And… ‘I’ was getting married.” 

“To someone in the same field, but much less accomplished. ‘I’ was really successful but my future spouse was a nobody. You could even call him a failure, someone so mediocre that he could barely get by. But I admired and adored him; ‘I’ thought he was special and talented, just needed the right opportunity to shine.” 

“The proposal seemed to be pretty one-sided too. He just accepted it passively. And then ‘I’ happily announced the news on SNS.”

“Of course the fans were all against it. After all that person could not measure up for ‘me’ at all. I can still remember all the comments ‘I’ received on the cellphone so well that I can recite them from memory even now:  
\- I don’t think he really loves you, he just likes that you could help him in some ways.  
\- He’s never shown his love for you. Are you sure you are not confused?  
\- Which part of him deserves you? You will regret rushing into this marriage.  
\- You are the one that started everything and proposed. If something goes wrong, it will all be your fault.  
\- He just pushes you in front of him so he could act innocent. He’s not willing to take on even a little pressure for you.  
And so much more, all telling “me” to give up…”

“But ‘I’ was very stubborn – or maybe ‘I’ just believed in my future partner so much that no one, no fans, no friends nor family could change my mind even for a little bit. So in the dream, ‘I’ just kept replying on my phone: I believe in him. We truly love each other. We are a good match. He is a good person. He is trustworthy. He loves me. Everything will be fine. We will be happy together. ”

“The person ‘I’ was supposed to marry never showed up in the dream so I don’t know if he was sincere. But no matter what he thinks, when I woke up I realized the most terrible part of this whole dream was that he never showed up. Just thinking about it makes me sick.”

“Wait.” Victor couldn’t stay silent anymore and interrupted Yuuri agitatedly. “We weren’t like that at all! This is ridiculous. Are you saying that you agreed to marry me out of pity because of this dream?”

“It’s not pity. I just saw my problems clearly. I knew in my heart then that we would eventually get married, it was only a matter of time – I might not be a mediocre failure, but Victor you would still run into a lot of resistance once we went public. There is a gap in social standing between you and me; people will say that I have some ultimate motives or that I would be a burden to you. And other people will say that you could control me and toy with me because I am your fan. If something goes wrong in the future, you will definitely be blamed as the one deciding everything. But the reality is that I love you too, and I have as much influence over you as you do over me. I didn’t say it but I was so very happy when you proposed – so everything went exactly how I wished for them to be, and yet strangely I still left you trapped in that situation of my dream. Am I stupid or cruel? Or such a coward that I refuse to face any pressure for you?”

Victor was completely stunned. He was so completely frozen at the spot that even his breathing had stopped, gazing at Yuuri expressionlessly and motionlessly. 

Yuuri raised his hand to pat Victor on his knee: “I love you, I cannot let you suffer because of me. So... although I wasn’t really ready at that time, I said yes. Also you must see that I am getting braver and more outspoken now, right? By the way, Yakov is probably still suspicious of me... Yurio you think the same right? I remember that day...”

A sharp whistle sounded from the kitchen and startled all three of them. Victor jumped up like he was woken from a stupor. 

The confessional atmosphere was abruptly broken. 

“Oh my god the water is boiling! Victor go handle it please!” Yuuri yelled. He pushed Victor towards the kitchen, dragged Yurachka from the sofa and rushed him out of the apartment with an unstoppable force. “I will see Yurio back home!” 

Yurachka’s place was not far away, but without a car and no money for bus or taxi, they had to walk for almost an hour. Yurio seemed to have fallen into his own musing and did not argue with Yuuri at all. He stayed silent all the way home, until they arrived at his apartment block and were about to say goodbye. Then he threw out a quick “I will put in a good word for you with Yakov” and hurried into the building. 

It was rudely said with a grimace, and yet Yuuri no longer felt any hostility from him. 

Now, to deal with the one at home… Yuuri couldn’t even begin to guess what would be going through Victor’s mind. He’s been pacing back and forth for 10 minutes under their apartment building after a slow walk home. He had even considered phoning Victor for a night out in a pub to avoid the awkwardness, before remembering he wouldn’t be allowed to go in anywhere that required ID check without valid proof of age. 

Finally he snuck back in. 

The living room lights were still on. Victor sat by the dining table with a pot of tea and two cups, looking completely normal. 

Seeing the two cups reassured Yuuri more than anything – Victor was waiting for him to come home, so the conversation before was okay for him to handle. So he walked over lightly without being noiseless. 

Victor must have heard him, but he remained motionless and just kept looking at the teacup in his hand.  
Yuuri glanced at the cup, then picked it up for a sip. Oh yeah, it’s definitely mostly alcohol with a tiny bit of tea. 

With a wry smile, Yuuri said to Victor – he still wasn’t looking at Yuuri – “Don’t drink like this so often, OK? I would like you to live longer, please, for me?”

After a long silence, Victor answered in a weak and cracking voice: “... OK.”

Then he stood up and encircled Yuuri in a heavy and clumsy hug. Yuuri caught a glimpse of his completely red-rimmed eyes. “I never knew why. Sometimes I even thought maybe you just humored me because you couldn’t change my mind…” Despite having calmed down, Victor’s voice still sounded like he was heaving a heavy sigh. 

It made Yuuri infinitely glad that he told him everything today. 

“Baka.” He kissed Victor’s earlobe, patting and stroking him on the back like soothing a sad child.


	31. Chapter 31

One day at lunch break, Victor leaned over and asked Yuuri: “Have I ever properly expressed how I feel about you?” 

Yuuri didn’t know how to react and just froze for a moment. 

“It... doesn’t matter? We are good now anyway...”

“It does matter. If I praise you more often, you will be more confident and trust me more right?”

“But I never said anything like that either?” Yuuri questioned with a head tilt. 

“You are Japanese.” Victor shrugged.

…………Fine. 

In any case, Yuuri now understood what Victor needed to do. He sat up and responded solemnly: “So go ahead. I will listen to anything Victor wants to say to me.” After all, Victor only has a degree from a sports college; no matter how artistic he always looks, he isn’t going to serenade Yuuri in Shakespearean sonnets. Yuuri didn’t feel any pressure about what he had just promised. 

Victor looked at him and silently prepared for several seconds. 

“You are lovely.”

Yuuri smiled and nodded. 

“You are like a young cub, cute, energetic, full of life.”

... Sounds a little weird, but OK... 

“If you so wish, you could be charming and charismatic like a star, everyone’s gaze will be drawn to you helplessly. You could match any luxurious clothing you deem to wear, yet you are so very humble by nature. You are the symbol of purity, the portrayal of beauty, the origin of love and the source of light. You are the only one I see and the only one I hold in my heart.” 

“Wait, wait a minute!” Yuuri felt his face heating up rapidly. He tried to stand up and wave the words away, but Victor quickly grabbed his wrist. 

“I am arrogant and prideful, never had I cared for the wishes of others. But now you shall dictate the thoughts in my mind and the feelings in my heart. If you allow me to stand, then I shall stand by you; if you ask me to kneel, then I shall kneel in front of you. As long as we shall live, I will thank God for granting us our lives together. When death comes, I will thank fate for sending me to ever-sleep with you always.” 

Yuuri was about to explode from the blood rushing to his head. He struggled to escape the torrent of words. 

“Now I know from the bottom of my soul that you are the one true love of my life. I belong to you. I will only belong to you, no matter where we are, who we are, what we do or what we look like; living or dead, I shall always be yours. I…

Yuuri couldn’t take it anymore. He finally broke past Victor and ran out of the canteen in a stumble. Victor stared after him for a brief moment and then quickly ran after him. 

That day, Victor chased Yuuri all the way from the stadium to the parking lot and then back to the stadium again.


	32. Chapter 32

Victor knew he was dreaming. 

He saw himself walking on a sunny and open snow field under a blue sky, with snow-covered birch forest stretching out endlessly in the distance.

But he was not alone. There was another walking with him. At first Victor wasn’t sure who his companion was, for some reason he couldn’t see that person’s face.

Victor gradually began to recognize him.

This flickering shadow beside him slowly grew solid in the cool and fresh air. Victor’s companion was in single-layered sportswear, with slightly disheveled raven-black hair. He walked alongside Victor, occasionally running around him, coming close to pull on his arm or to hold his hand; sometimes he even jumped on Victor’s back. 

“Where are we going?” Victor turned to look at him with a question, but still his face was not clear. 

He did not get an answer.

After a while, Victor realized that they didn’t actually need to be going anywhere. As the realization dawned to him, his companion seemed to be aware of his enlightenment. Now his still hazy companion bent down mischievously, grabbed a handful of snow and threw it at him.

The snow scattered in the air and drizzled down on his face like tiny droplets of rain. The ice crystal flashed golden under sunlight. Victor thought he heard a peal of laughter.

Then, as it would have happened in some cliché harlequin novels, Victor couldn’t help but reach out to grab him while he cunningly slipped away. They continued the chase and the snowball fight.

Victor felt the uneven steps he had taken in pursuing his companion. He wasn’t sure if he was wearing skates. He could hear the sound of blades striking and gliding on the ice, sweet and clear to his ears. Several time he caught his companion and held this warm and limber body in his arms, but his companion always slipped away. He got goosebumps from the cold as snow was shoved in his collar. His companion smiled to him, approached him, and then ran away again as unpredictable as the wind. Even when Victor caught him he still wouldn’t settle down – he tried to push Victor away, and then laughed himself silly when he found he couldn’t manage it. He playfully chewed on some snow, even held it to Victor’s mouth trying to feed him as well. 

Victor grabbing his wrist to stop him.

By now Victor’s mind was completely blank, open and clear as the blue sky. The only thing he could feel was a surge of warmth. This surge of feelings flooded his chest and filled it to the brink; it was hot, pulsing, and almost overflowing. And when his companion gave up on feeding him snow and leaned over, when Victor felt those lips on the corner of his mouth, something just snapped in his chest. A scorching wave rushed out from the inside of him with a such force that felt like it cleaved open his sternum, cut through his flesh and broke out of his skin. Passion, enthusiasm, love and gratitude inundated his spiritual landscape. He drifted out of the dream in a whirl of dizziness and slowly fell back into his bed.

The alarm clock sounded. 

Victor sat up and saw Yuuri lying beside him. Yuuri was still asleep curling up under the duvet; raven-black hair spread out on the pillow, and his nose buried in the duvet because of the cold.


	33. Chapter 33

Yuuri knew he was dreaming. 

He found himself in the waiting area of a huge arena, costume stretching taunt on his body and the familiar weight of the skates under his feet. 

The arena was so gigantic that it couldn’t possibly exist in reality.

Now the roof of the arena slid open to reveal the endless shining stars on the velvet-dark night sky, which blended with the endless shining camera flashes from the pitch-black audience. They surged and ebbed with a power that quickened the pulse and captured the soul. He was surrounded by sound: of broadcasters speaking, of the audience talking, of people walking, of camera shutters snapping, of machines moving, of the wind whirling and flags fluttering... All of them intertwined into a surprising harmony that echoed silently on the silver ice spreading out in pure perfection.

Yuuri stood there, feeling a little at a loss.

But he soon realized that there was no other reason for him to be here other than being in a competition. 

The world seemed to become clear as this realization dawned. Yuuri began to feel the people around him. He could hear a coach talking to his skater in accented English. Someone was walking by with their skates on in the back. A couple of ISU guys were chatting to some staff nearby.

Occasionally someone would come near him. They disregarded him in silent passing, or watched him for a while before walking away. Some of them would talk to him. Yuuri couldn’t tell who they were, but he heard the voices of Pitchit and Yurachka, and caught a vague glimpse of light reflecting off the crystals on the shoulders and backs of their costumes in darkness.

But none of these mattered. He started looking for someone with his extremely limited senses – only to realize soon that the person he’s looking for was not here.

Not in the waiting area, not in the arena… actually Yuuri did not know if he even existed in this dream universe. 

This realization made Yuuri feel somewhat lost. Yuuri always took it for granted that “he” should be somewhere close by and this absence dazed him. His imagination went into overdrive trying to list countless possibilities for “him” to be “maybe here”. He even came up with the weirdest guess – Yuuri raised his own hand for a careful look and confirmed that this was indeed his own hand: it was an average sized hand of an Asian male from the modest bone structure to the clean-cut nails, and not at all the strong yet slender Caucasian hand with perfectly filed fingernails that he had hoped for. 

Yuuri couldn’t help but began to get nervous, enveloped by an unbearable hollowness. But there was no time for him to adjust now – a sharp whistle, his name being called on the broadcast, and the crowd behind him began to push for him to go on ice. Yuuri couldn’t tell exactly who they were. In their rushing steps he thought he heard Yakov and Lilia and Celestino, and even Minako and a childhood mentor he could only recall faintly. 

Come on, we are proud of you. You will win this, you can do it. Believe in yourself. Their voices were like a buzzing echo in his mind. Their warm hands and encouraging hugs surrounded him.

Then somehow, everything Victor had said to him came to fill his mind – about skills, about competition, about art, about people, about beauty and life, and the secrets and vows he had made, the love and faith and determination he had expressed – they all came together and lit a light in the dark.

High above him, some heavy machinery moved and settled in position, then all the lights went out and the audience hushed. In the inky blue darkness, Yuuri glided slowly to the center of the rink with the starlight reflected on the ice.

“I no longer care about other people’s opinion, not even the judges’. Remember, all my performances from now on are for you.” He could hear Victor’s words echoed in his ears. The hollow in Yuuri did not go away completely, but something different was filling it up – whether you are here or not, whether you can see it, this performance is only for you. This dedication will be the source of my courage.

“Bang!”

The ultra powerful spotlights focused a bright beam on Yuuri. 

The sudden strong light blinded him and turned the whole world white for a few seconds. Music started to play; the audience cheered and applauded.

He couldn’t see, he couldn’t hear. He felt weightless. 

But he kept a calm face, opened his eyes to smile, and pushed his body to start the performance. 

Then he was shaken awake by Victor.

Technically he was hugged awake, because he found himself sitting in Victor’s arms when he opened his eyes. Suffice to say that Victor definitely just dug him up from his duvet cocoon. 

Victor frowned and studied him with an indescribable expression, a mixture of worry, doubt, uneasiness, and “should be all right…?”.

He asked Yuuri seriously: “Are you sure you will be OK for us to go our separate ways for our individual competitions this time?”

Yuuri, now fully awake, looked back at him with the same seriousness, and nodded confidently: “No problem.”


	34. Chapter 34

Victor took Yuuri to the nearby air force base for a visit.

Yuuri didn’t expect such a place would be open to the public as a tourist attraction. The reception service was quite good too, with the notable difference of the usual tour guide being replaced by burly men in military uniform.

They had lunch at the base’s canteen.

Yuuri was intently chewing on the black bread when Victor suddenly showed him a cellphone page: “Yuuri, would you like to take a fly?”

He took a careful look at that page from a shopping site. It proudly boasted test flight of MiG jet fighters with professional pilots at customers’ disposal. Rental fees, fuel charge and a signed declaration of doing as told once airborne were all that would be needed for a stimulated combat flight. 

There were a lot of five-star reviews. 

“No. Thanks but no.” Yuuri rejected the offer decisively.


	35. Chapter 35

Yurachka suddenly had a suitor. 

Of course as one of the most famous star athletes in the world, Yurachka had no shortage of people interested in him. However this guy seemed to be extraordinarily proactive and powerful – he had the ability to shut up the nosiest tabloid reporters and cleverly arrange meeting Yurachka in various social occasions. He had even stated frankly that his intentions towards Yurachka is marriage. 

Despite knowing that Yurachka was smart and would make the right choice, Yuuri was still unsettled – “Yurio is only 15 years old, how is this really okay?”

Victor answered in a question: “You didn’t know?” 

Yuuri tilted his head and looked at his husband.

“The legal age for marriage in Russia is 14. As long as the guardian consents.”

Yuuri’s thermo slipped from his hand and hit the ground with a huge clang. 

Victor picked it up and put it back in his hand: “Or how else do you think I was never questioned by the police, always walking with you in my arms like that in public?” 

About 2 weeks later, Yurachka mercilessly kicked his suitor to the curb.


	36. Chapter 36

St. Petersburg put on a city light show for the holidays. 

Yuuri dragged Victor along to watch it. 

He began to regret his rash decision around 9 o’clock. Yuuri did survive five winters in Detroit, which was located in the Great Lakes Region practically next door to Canada, but the night chill of St. Petersburg was a type of unusual cold that you would feel inside out from your heart and bones. Yuuri thought maybe he had been spoiled by the year in Hasetsu, but soon a fact dissuade him of this thought: about 5 minutes after the show started, his phone shut down because of the cold and would not turn on again. 

Victor said iPhone was too weak for Russian winter and began to record the show for Yuuri with his Russian made mobile phone, which also died about 15 minutes later. Although it revived successfully, this time it didn’t make it past 5 minutes.

So the two of them simply stood there and watched. Nearly two hours outdoor in the freezing night of St. Petersburg later, their persistence was paid off with Yuuri’s tears – without emotion, purely physiological and uncontrollable tears. As soon as the tears left his eyes they became tiny icicles on his lashes; he was also shaking as if he had contracted malaria. Victor was taken aback by this and tried desperately to find out what was wrong with Yuuri. Yuuri struggled for a long while before he managed to stutter that it might be too cold for him, and just couldn’t help but burrowing into Victor’s arms and asking Victor to save him.

In the end, they huddled together in a café that could barely see the show and watched it all the way till the end. 

Victor wrapped Yuuri in his coat like a babe and kept humming unnamed Russian songs to him as they watched.


	37. Chapter 37

“I forgot to bring the lip balm.”

“I’ve got it, wait let me…” 

“......”

“...stop it, please Victor ...”

“It’s not an even spread. Give me a bit more.”


	38. Chapter 38

Victor and Yurachka and Makkachin got in a fight with a bunch of homeless guys. For Yuuri.

Thing happened like this: Victor and Yurachka went to buy coffee in the store, and Yuuri waited for them on the street with Makkachin. He probably unintentionally glanced at a few homeless guys or something, because they just crowded over. When Yuuri thought about later, he realized they probably took him for a tourist – easy target with no trouble in the future. 

Yuuri was dragged into the side alley and was ready to hand over his wallet and mobile phone. His past knowledge in this area, whether in Japan or the United States, had always been personal safety first. But then Victor threw his coffee on those guys and interrupted the robbery attempt in progress.

Yuuri had never seen Victor like this. Yurachka getting in a fight would be one thing, Victor was always such a gentleman that most of the time it was as if he had no temper at all. But this time Yuuri got a first-hand understanding that Victor’s muscles weren’t just for skating or looks. Before Yuuri could react, Victor, Yurachka and Makkachin were getting the upper hand on four guys. Even when one of them brandished a pocket knife, Victor just kept on punching that guy in the face without blinking. 

And after Yuuri got over the shock and joined the battle, they won quickly and completely.

Everyone was glad that the fight did not result in injuries or the police afterwards; but Yuuri, as the cause of the whole situation, was still unhappy that it had happened – what if Victor or Yurachka had gotten hurt?

Upon listening to Yuuri ’s thoughts, Mila patted him on the head like a big sister: “They wouldn’t have stopped even if that guy pulled an AK47, never mind a little pocket knife. True Russian men are all like that. This is why they only have an average life expectancy of 55 years old. Just remember to watch out for him.”


End file.
